MIDAS POV
Ermes was not answering.
That was a problem.
A small one, I told myself.
A temporary one.
The real problem was that Penelope was completely ignoring me. Since f*****g yesterday.
As if my messages were optional. As if silence was something she could choose and not something I allowed.
That could be fixed.
With enough teeth, enough blood, and enough people remembering where they stood.
Still, by the time Bloodclaw territory came into view through the trees, my phone was one unanswered message away from being crushed in my fist.
Ermes had promised me simplicity.
Eight sharp.
Winter garden.
Your mate will be ready.
His exact words.
And I had believed him because, for all his irritating softness and theatrical intelligence, Ermes was usually useful. He had spent years
